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South Bend police officers fatally shot a man Friday near an elementary school after he apparently pointed a gun at officers during a stand-off, northern Indiana police said.
Witness statements and police video show that Dante Kittrell, 51, was threatening to take his own life and appeared to be waving a handgun near athletic fields outside Coquillard Elementary School, St. Joseph County police said.
South Bend officers who were dispatched to the scene following a call by school employees tried for nearly 40 minutes to de-escalate the situation and calm Kittrell before members of the department’s SWAT team opened fire about 12:30 p.m. EDT Friday, police said.
Kittrell later died at a hospital.
Police said officers' body camera video and in-car video captured Kittrell threatening to shoot multiple times before he pointed the gun at officers.
Police did not immediately release additional details of the shooting, including how many officers opened fire. St. Joseph County Police said that agency and Mishawaka police were investigating the shooting and will report their findings to the county prosecutor.
Sheriff Bill Redman urged members of the community “not to rush into any judgments until the investigation is complete.”
A South Bend school district spokeswoman told the South Bend Tribune that no students were in the elementary school building at the time of the shooting and no school staff were injured.
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